Marina: The Third Generation
by Anna Craft
Summary: Grandma dreamt of the Land, and I walk it. Mother dreamt of the Sea, and I swim that. Does anybody ever ask what it is I want when I have the best of two worlds?
1. The Island

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Island

Name known to both sea and land, a princess to both.

She was never the same as other girls, she swam before she could stand on two legs and ran before she could walk. Vigorous in life and deeply affectionate, stubborn and utterly determined, she was everything her mother and grandmother looked forward to.

Dark brown hair that swept down to the middle of her back in waves like the sea, her sturdy brown skin glistened like the seashell littered sands. Perfectly aquamarine blue eyes were aware, curious, and ever wandering. Glittering like the calm seas when she was happy and raging like the greatest storm when she was angered.

Princess Marina, daughter of Queen Melody.

"Mother!" her voice was clearly angered running barefooted down the palace stairs in nothing but her nightgown. "Mother!" she shouted again one hand pushing open the double doors to the banquet hall. There her father, King Justin, was conversing with his raven-haired wife and graying red-haired mother-in-law.

Melody turned to look at her daughter and shook her head, "Marina I've told you time and time again to not walk around barefooted."

"Uh huh, sure fine, no bare feet. Where is Sebastian?" she demanded combing her fingers through her thick hair.

All of them seemed to grow quiet for a moment and Marina turned to her grandmother.

"Grandma?"

Ariel was still, she shook her head and stood to come eye to eye with her thirteen year old granddaughter. "Grandma, me, Sebastian and Scuttle were supposed to swim to the island today."

"Marina," she started, her voice gentle. "Your great-grandfather isn't doing very well, Sebastian won't be back for some time."

"W-what's wrong with grandpa Triton?" her voice shook, not liking the sound of this; she wasn't a baby anymore.

"He's sick Marina, we have to let him rest."

"Can I see him?"

"That probably wouldn't be a good idea." Melody started, standing along side her husband. Her blue eyes reflected Ariel's in a look of understanding.

"Marina, I'll be heading back to the sea to help Aunt Aquata with the arrangements on Atlantica. When we've situated everything I'll come back so you may visit him. Until than try not to swim to far from home and have someone with you at all times." Ariel's voice was kind, but Marina understood, she never swam as much as her mother had, of course she also never walked about as much as her grandmother had either.

"Yes grandma."

"That's a good girl. I'll be back as soon as I can, your grandfather must be in a panic being left all alone down there." She chuckled lightly and walked out from the hall her simple blue gown all she'd need until she got to the water's edge.

"Mother?" Marina turned back to her mother.

"What is it Marina?" she sat down her blue eyes downcast.

"Can I still go to the island with Scuttle?"

Melody thought about it for a moment's time before nodding her head in agreement. "As long as you're back before dinner." Marina grinned and nodded her head.

Racing up the stairs two at a time she was quick and agile -she'd always desired to be faster than this but her legs could only take so much strain- as the wind blew through the window into her face as she opened the door to her bedroom.

"Hey there girlie, find the crab?" Scuttle was perched precariously on the edge of the windowsill teetering back and forth daringly. Marina shook her head pulling her hair back into a ribbon.

"Nuh uh, Grandpa Triton is sick so Sebastian is taking care of him."

"Sick aye? Didn't think that was possible with the King of the Sea." He replied.

"Everyone gets sick Scuttle, even mighty ol' you." She giggled and grabbed a few knick-knacks from her dresser drawers and walking out the door. Marina was down the stairs in mere seconds her feet still bare.

Brown trousers and ivory shirt were all that would cover her for now. When she reached the water she dove in, Scuttle soared above her carelessly, making a trail for the small island not to far off. A decent swim for anyone but for a person like Marina it was no more than a small stroll to the kitchen.

"I'll race ya Marina."

No more to be said, Marina was off quicker than the last syllable had passed from Scuttle's beak.

The gull was quick, slicing through the air like a knife in whipped cream; Marina was like a fish, her legs strong and arms stronger. Scuttle kept getting sidetracked but Marina was all determination and will power.

Her hair stuck to the side's of her sandy skin and got in her way, but she could have swam to that island with her eyes closed. Beneath her fish and dolphins raced beside her, just as they had with the generations before her. Maybe it was a good thing to keep Sebastian out of this, he hated racing, Scuttle and Marina were always the fastest ones and crabs weren't exactly made for speed. This was good it felt perfect.

"Marina, watch out!" but before she knew it she hit shallow water and landed in a tide pool, one nasty starfish clinging to the top-right side of her face. She lifted a hand to peel the sea creature from her face. Scuttle landed next to her, on his feet surprisingly, concern in his eyes. "Ya all right there, girlie?"

Shaking off the sand from her cheeks Marina nodded tugging at her bag so it wouldn't be swept away by the current. "I didn't even realize the depth, too focused on speed." She laughed along with Scuttle's chuckle as he waddled over to a rock perching himself high on top.

"Well ya won in style." He said. She grinned, pleased with herself.

Standing Marina shook off her pant legs, the shorts underneath still wet but maneuverable. Placing one hand on a tall rock she hauled herself higher and higher until she felt the wind through every pore of her body. The velocity made her want to jump and feel it forever, she knew, however, that she'd only be filled with the sea that was still a half of her body. "Scuttle?" the bird turned his head in her direction. "What's it like to fly?"

"Why it's exhilarating, fast, furious, and ferocious!" he swept his wings this way and that seeming to fall to one side of the rock only to stumble to the other. "The wind in you're hair, the land and sea below ya, it's like being on top of the world." And as if to prove it he took flight doing a few crooked loop-de-loops in the sky.

Marina giggled throwing herself off the rock and slicing through the air before she hit the water with as much grace as the mermaids before her. Breaching the surface she took a breath and felt the water about her, it's temperature never too cold or warm for her. She swam back to the shore just as Scuttle landed, face planting this time.

"Marina, nice to see you." The bright yellow and blue was hard to miss. "How you doin' kid?"

Flounder was an old fish, but he still kept up with her grandmother very well, his grandson Angler, ever a little rebel, was beside him. Angler had been the Flounder to Marina's mermaid since the day she was born. Many suspect that if she hadn't been as adventurous as the women before her Angler would have turned out a bit more like his grandfather.

"Find Uncle Flounder, just having a nice swim and talk with Scuttle."

"Big fish, little fish …" Scuttle was chirping behind him as he poked at tide pool.

"Sounds, entertaining." Angler sounded.

"Hey, he's pretty fun for an old birdy." Marina laughed her cerulean eyes brighter than usual as she stepped into the water again. "How about a race Angler?"

Angler splashed about in excitement, there was no point in Flounder's consent, he was aware of all the dangers around the island and he was sure Marina knew how to take care of herself too.

Marina grinned so wide while listening to Flounder's deep voice. "On your mark," they positioned themselves. "Get set." She took a breath. "Go!" and they were off.

Angler had the advantage, born swimming, racing. Marina had the upper hand with a longer body length and muscles, her instinct for the water and love of a race was even more determined now than before when she'd raced Scuttle.

The mostly blue fish was turning a sharp edge at the beginning of a coral reef to turn back; Marina saw this as her chance. She dove beneath the surface and placed her bare feet against the coral reef. Blue eyes detected Angler's distance from her and she sprung herself out from the water, throwing herself into the air and over Angler hitting the water without disturbing the surface to terribly. Arms in a fluid motion strongly pulled her through the water. This time she didn't need a 'watch out' from Scuttle, she'd intended to hit shallow water and flip herself onto her back onshore.

Breathing deep she propped herself on her elbows once she was laying on her stomach. Angler was in the shallow water doing the same as his grandfather chuckled deeply.

"You win." He wheezed out.

"Thanks." Laughing a bit while she laid flat on her back again, Scuttle landed beside her replaying the race in his own words.

"Flying, soaring, right over that little fishy! Marina you were born a bird, free, and wow, that dive she was like a swordfish! Cut right through! Didn't stand a chance-" and so on. Scuttle didn't stop for another five minutes and by that time Marina was flushing a dark red.

The day was still early so she walked the perimeter of the island so Angler and Flounder could stay with her. Scuttle went in and out of the sparse trees and brush scattered around the strip of land. They collected shells that she would later make jewelry from and odds and ends of herbs that her grandmother had taught her would cure certain things. The sea was known for so much, it was a wonder that humans couldn't see just how beautiful it was.

In truth maybe even Marina couldn't tell of its beauty.

The sea had always been her home, whether it is her second or first never occurred to her. Marina's education extended from the secrets of the sea to the knowledge of land. Melody had always been so infatuated with the sea, she often begged Ariel to take over on land so that she may take to the sea. Ariel was growing older on land however, and had to stay within Atlantica just as much as Eric, her husband, had to.

When the time came Marina would be expected to take on the land kingdom, when she would probably yearn more for the sea's freedom. Either way she would lose, because there was always something that was missing whenever she was in either –never once could Marina truly admit to feeling whole.

"Hey girlie, suns going down." Scuttle's squawk was heard immediately just before he ran his beak into the ground.

"Looks like we have to get home, want us to swim with you first Marina?" Flounder questioned.

"I'm fine, I'll head straight home. Mom would have me for dinner if I'm even a second late again." She laughed and dived into the water, Scuttles wings right above her head again. "Bye Angler."

The blue fish waved one of his small fins and dived below the surface. Marina was focused on yet another race against the clock, Scuttle above her exerting himself to the limit as the thirteen year old used every natural skill she was born with to make it on shore and into the castle.

"Almost there sweetie." He called above her head, but there was another sound; a small flutter. Not like the beat of Scuttle's wings, but smaller. The _splish-splash_ of a dolphin's dives and the beating of tiny wings. What was that? Marina tried to propel herself and look about without getting too much of the salty water in her mouth –her eyes never seemed to be affected by it.

Than her eyes caught the sight of something so small; but human, so mystical…

Stopping mid-stride Marina lowered herself so that just her eyes would show over the surface. Chocolate brown hair splayed around the water carelessly, until she felt a tug on a few strands. She turned immediately but saw nothing there, furrowing her brows in annoyance when she felt the tug again only to turn and find nothing. Scuttle a few wingspans away from here hadn't noticed that Marina stopped swimming.

Light chiming giggles danced with the current in Marina's ears. "Hello?"

The sun was getting lower and Melody would be out looking for her daughter in due time. Nothing responded to her but the small bouts of laughter, until something like a clear bell, a louder laugh caught her attention.

Marina's blue eyes turned swiftly, almost dragging in a lungful of water when she gasped.

Before her was a girl maybe a year older than her, pale sea-green eyes and pale moonlight skin that shimmered like the water. Blonde hair was loose, and such an ashy color it seemed a silver-gray in the dying light.

The mysterious girl's lips twitched into a small smile and she laughed again splashing Marina with an elegant hand.

"Hi!" she said, her voice enthusiastic and sweet.

Marina was at a loss for words swimming backwards a bit to put space in between the girl. She could tell this was no mermaid; a leg had brushed her own.

"Can you hear me?" the girl asked again her delicate pale brows furrowing low over her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Finally Marina nodded her head bringing it up fully over the water.

"Oh that's good, I thought maybe you'd pass out." She giggled so lightly and swam closer to Marina. "I'm Shimmer. And you are?"

Shimmer? Marina thought, Is that even a name? No doubt there was something about this girl, and surely her parents may have been just as odd to name their daughter Shimmer. "My name is-"

"Marina! Marina!?" the sound was Scuttle's voice looking for the princess.

Shimmer was startled and moved away from Marina quickly. "Wait, don't go." Marina was so curious. Who was she?

"I have to leave, we will meet again Marina." And with a light shimmer of light the pale blond was gone.

"Oh girlie your mother is mad, you better get home before she clips your wings." Scuttle pulled at the tips of her hair.

Marina was hardly listening, in less than two minutes she was just presented with a mystery worth her immense curiosity.

_Curiosity killed the cat, but Satisfaction brought it Back._


	2. Beautiful Dreamer

**Disclaimer : Obviously don't own _The Little Mermaid_ but the plot and Marina and the rest of the Co. are mine.**

**Thank you, I see a lot of people have read this. I am currently doing this and _Clair de Lune_ my _Twilight_ fic. so please excuse the fact that I am a little late every so often I also intend to start my other ones. Thank you and please review.**

**Beautiful Dreamer is one of my childhood lullabyes and I thought it was perfect for Marina. What's your opinion? Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask.**

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Chapter 2

Beautiful Dreamer

"I told you, I told you to be home before dinner," Melody was furious with her daughter. Words slashed through the air much like her father before her when he was angered; there was complete doubt that her temper had been from Ariel. "But instead Scuttle had to go back and look for you, you were an hour late Marina! Can you explain yourself?" she finally questioned her blue-eyed daughter currently sitting in her nightgown, wet hair dripping over her sand-colored skin.

"Not without sounding crazy mother." She responded with the utmost sincerity. Melody sat at the vanity looking at her thirteen year old child.

Marina was growing, no doubt, and she was starting to become as defiant as she had been as a kid. It was with that thought Melody smiled so reassuringly that it struck Marina by surprise. Moving Melody came to sit next to the young princess and slowly moved her wet hair into three plates preparing to braid it.

"I should have realized," she muttered just so that her daughter may hear. "You're just like me at this age." That caught Marina's attention, the blue eyes passed down three generations quickly turned to their incarnate narrowing in the slightest bit of suspicion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The water Marina, I should have realized it. Keeping you on land must be killer, the water is probably more suited for you," Melody was frenzied in her words standing to twirl around the room in a delightfully wave-like way. To Melody it was as if it were something she'd been waiting for all her life. "I hated being on land when I was your age, and I still prefer to be under the sea," she knelt next to Marina. "As soon as I can I'll arrange for you to spend as much time as you want down there. A year or so?"

"M-mom, I-" but she couldn't finish, Melody's eyes were so bright with hope that her daughter shared the exact same passion.

It wasn't that Marina didn't love the sea; it felt like home to her. But she never felt completely whole when she was there. Something in the back of her young teenage mind always told her there was something else she was missing and it wasn't here, on land or sea.

"Thanks mom." She finally responded forcing a smile to her lips, quickly overlooked by Melody who, in her exuberance, could never guess that it was fake.

"Oh Marina, just wait till your grandma gets back, it'll be nice for her to have some help down there."

"Yeah, of course." Melody lifted herself once more kissing her daughter lightly on the forehead. Quickly, Marina took advantage of the distance to tuck herself in bed covering the blankets over her head.

"Night mom." She said.

Melody moved over to open on of the balcony doors smiling at her little girl for all the wrong reasons. "Goodnight Marina."

She blew out Marina's night candle and left the moonlit room.

The distant sound of waves crashed against the rocks in a slow lulling rhythm, gentle snores from the perch above Marina's balcony door emitted from Scuttle who stayed close to the princess often enough. Shadows were cast by the clouds that glided past the silver moon outside, each one a sheep for Marina to count until her eyes drifted shut.

_Deep breaths, heavy breaths. She had to run faster, faster than the wind, faster than anything… "Starlit! Lumiere! Luna! Shimmer!" Marina could hear herself, but what did it mean? Were they names? Names she'd never heard before? Did anyone even have such silly names?_

_Wait… Wait, Shimmer!_

_The blonde, the girl in the sea! Marina knew that name and that delicate, beautiful face. Her eyes started to swell with tears, feeling the loss in her heart. What was going on?_

"_Ow." She'd stepped on something hard. Glass, broken glass all over the floor, and rocks all scattered and pointed. Walls, torn and water damaged; where was she?_

"_Mom? Daddy…Shimmer?" she cried desperately for anyone she knew. A familiar face had to come from somewhere. Marina ran despite the pain in her feet from the pointed and broken pieces on the floor, and yet not on speck of blood had appeared on the soles of her feet. How odd that was._

"_Marina?" the tinkling sound was familiar and one of a kind._

"_Shimmer? Is that you?"_

"_Oh by the moon, Marina, please help me!"_

"_I'm coming. Where are you?" Marina called, and called again; but Shimmer's voice had died._

_Marina ran into a large room, the large windows in the circular hall reminded her instantly of another room she knew very well. The ballroom. Marina was home someone had to be here._

"_Marina, sweet princess, it's a pleasure." A chilling voice, so elegant and beautiful ran past her ear like an ice wind. Turning she hoped to encounter the speaker but only met-_

Rising from her sheets screaming long and loud. The squawk of Scuttle outside followed as he swooped through her open door, the sunlight breaking over the horizon telling her what time it was. Footsteps were quick and her blue painted door swung open with a force known only to her father.

Justin looked about the room his blonde hair scraggly, sword in hand to protect his daughter. Not to far behind was Melody her hair wet from a morning swim most likely.

"Hey there girlie you sound like you're under attack." Scuttle was shaking the sleep off as he settled on Marina's headboard.

Chocolate brown tresses were damp with a cold sweat her eyes wide and petrified even as she felt her body being pressed against her father's warm chest. "Marina your cold as death." He muttered in her ear his warm breath making her shiver. One of her hands reached and gripped to the fabric of his white shirt, clutching onto it for dear life.

"Daddy it was so scary, I don't know…I couldn't find you or mom anywhere." She whispered it feeling herself slowly ease into a more comfortable state. Melody looked up at the white gull that seemed about to fall asleep on the headboard. Justin comforted his daughter rocking her as he'd laid his sword against the side of the bed.

"Scuttle," Melody started earning a look from her husband, he would never get used to this whole 'talk to the animals' thing his wife and daughter had going on. "Did anyone come in?"

The bird straightened himself once acknowledged and shook his feathered head. If a bird could frown certainly Scuttle would have now, the old bird felt guilty he could not help, but it wasn't much a surprise when surely he could sleep like a rock. "Sorry Melody, I don't think anything did." Though he didn't sound sure.

The queen sighed running a hand through her damp hair moving to stand over her daughter and husband. "Marina, honey, it was probably just a nightmare." She smiled, attempting to reassure the girl. It didn't work as her daughter shook her head in disagreement.

"No, no it was so real mother. I-" but she was cut off just as quickly.

"Marina, sleep a little longer. It was just a nightmare. We'll have your favorite breakfast ready, that's something to look forward to right."

Marina knew it was no use; it probably was just a silly nightmare. But ones with names that she didn't know but felt attached to. At that, the names were so odd, certainly not ones that Marina would be accustomed to, even as a small child. It was so vivid and real, everything seemed so likely.

Eventually she nodded her head and Justin laid Marina's head back on her pillow kissing her on the forehead as her mother had some time ago.

"Rest, princess." He smiled and grabbed his wife's hand pulling the dark haired Melody outside the room.

The sun was close to rising higher but both parents knew their daughter would compose herself a bit before getting out of bed. Justin's tanned hand rested on one of Melody's bare shoulders pulling her to him.

"She's getting older, but she acted like she did as five year old." He said concern on his lips.

"Do you remember what happened last time she was plagued by a nightmare?" Melody questioned her blue eyes focusing on Justin's brown with the same concern.

"Unfortunately I do. Atlantica was attacked, your father was wounded deeply because of it."

Melody nodded. "If we'd paid more attention he wouldn't have to spend his life as a merman, he could go back and forth like mother and me."

"We didn't know Melody. Marina is special; she can sense things stronger than the rest of us. We all have our talents."

"Than maybe the sea is better for her. Justin, I think that's what she wants, to live in the sea, not here on land."

He smiled. "My love, that was your dream, are you sure you are not misinterpreting?"

Melody frowned and shook her head. "I know my daughter, she's just like her mother."

"In more ways than one." He answered chuckling as they made their way to the kitchen.

Later that morning Marina found herself seated in the ballroom watching a few of the courtiers have some fun with the orchestra's practice for tonight's festivities. Drawing in a breath she sunk even lower into her chair and watched her father whisk past her with an invisible partner in his arms, just casually having fun since his wife never did like dancing and had disappeared for another swim some time ago. The only ones keeping young Marina any company were Max II and Scuttle, perched on an open window next to her.

The floor length green dress was not her favorite thing in the world, but it was lighter than what she would have to wear later on that night. A frilly purple monster that she swore made her look like an oversized grape. Nonetheless Melody would be wearing something uncomfortable and so would Marina, no compromises.

Beside her Max lifted his old head and barked at a familiar scent. In came Melody her eyes drifting from her daughter to her husband taking a deep breath of concentration before moving to cut in with Justin's non-existent partner. Her furrowed black brows putting Marina at immediate suspicion about what they were talking about, there was also her mother's darting glances in her general direction.

In a moment Marina was standing and storming out of the ballroom, she'd felt glum all morning here trying to keep her father adequate company without stepping on the dance floor. Since Melody was back there was no longer a point in being there. It wasn't the wasted morning that made Marina mad however; it was the secrets they were suddenly keeping from her. Never before had they ever kept a secret from her, why start now?

"I miss Sebastian." She started, Scuttle following by each window nearly ran into the next hearing Marina's soft words.

"That cranky ol' crab? What ya missin' him for girlie when you got us?" he indicated both him and the puppy Max II –or just Max to most people- who was following enthusiastically a few steps ahead of the princess.

Marina sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "If Sebastian were here he'd have something smart to say and make me not worry so much." He'd been a lifesaver in the past and now she was without him and her crazy dream that night had definitely gotten the better of her.

Apparently it wasn't the end of her nightmares, it was the same all over again. Shimmer crying out for help and a mysterious voice at the end in which she'd woken up from nearly screaming but muffled by Max's whines -she'd decided to let him sleep with her that night.

"I'm okay boy." She petted the white furred head of the animal and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. No, she was far from fine.

On the fifth day she hadn't slept much at all and it was beginning to show as she nearly fell asleep over her eggs at breakfast.

Melody's worried gaze turned to Justin who was just as horrified by this drastic change in their daughter. Certainly something was wrong, she wasn't saying a word of what it was though and that worried her parents even more.

The sound of dishes clashing and a few screams were what woke Marina from her slumber and shook Melody from her bout of concern, both knew it and both said it, "Sebastian."

Marina was the first one up moving with the racing grace she most likely had gotten from her father's side of the family rather than her mothers. The red crustacean was out of the kitchen and in Marina's cupped hands quicker than lightening. She held him close to her mid-section waiting for the new cook Francois to come from the kitchen, it seemed Sebastian had a very odd connection with the cooks; every one of them seemed to chase him. Though on a few occasions they were the ones being chased out and hadn't come back since either.

Sure enough Francois came out, a butcher knife in his hand fair black hair pulled out from everywhere, apron askew as he searched franticly for the little red menace. "I know it is here." He whispered low, as if he were hunting only to spot the princess in front of him giving him a very quizzical look. "Uh." He stuttered in his actions facing the disappointment of his king and queen who were both seemingly just as stunned when it was pretty predictable by now. "Forgive me. I cook now," he said and was off into the kitchen.

Marina giggled lightly, a comfort to her mother and father, as she unfolded her hands around the crab. "Oh Sebastian where have you been I have so much to tell you."

The crab smiled up at the princess but could not hide the look in his eyes. His gaze searched for the raven-haired queen and she stepped forward holding out her hand for him.

"Marina, take Max and go play on the beach."

"But mother." She became defiant. Secrets? Again?

"Now Marina."

So the princess had no choice but to comply and picked up her pale yellow skirts and walked out. A frown prominent on her visage while she made her ways outdoors.

Once outside she sat on the sand sifting her fingers through the warmth of the sun-warmed sand. Max jumped around the waves nipping at fish that he meant no harm to. He was a small sheepdog, but playful just like his father. Scuttle flew in the distance circling at an amazing height; he was being daring today. This little note made Marina giggle leaning back, splaying her hair out and not caring if she got a few sand bits in there.

"I haven't slept in a while." She muttered. The sun was warm on her cheeks and the lullaby of the sea was so tempting. Marina wanted to sleep and sunbathe like a real mermaid would, but she knew the consequences if she let her eyes slip shut.

She would dream of a terrible dark castle, and she would hear only one voice. One beautiful voice that she couldn't help.

"Marina." It would sound just like that, like tinkling bell or chime. "Marina, are you sleeping?"

"What?" she was shocked and sat up immediately to come face to face with Shimmer, the blonde girl was as beautiful in broad daylight as Marina remembered.

Dressed in the simplest white gown Shimmer's slender form looked like moonlight personified. In the sun she seemed untouched by the golden light and was instead bathed in a silver silk so translucent and lovely that Marina's sand colored cheeks flushed in embarrassment to the comparison of their looks.

"Do you remember me, Marina? We met in the sea." Her voice so delicate it was mesmerizing.

_Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,  
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;  
Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,  
Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away!_**  
**_Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,  
List while I woo thee with soft melody;  
Gone are the cares of life's busy throng,  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!_

_Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea  
Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelie;  
Over the streamlet vapors are borne,  
Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.  
Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,  
E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea;  
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!  
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!_

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Thanks everyone for reading. Don't forget to review I hope to have a third chapter up very soon.

-Anna Craft


	3. Fairies Wait

**I know I'm lagging, but I'm trying. Lots of things to do now that school has started.**

**So Fairies Wait is another lullabye, if you get the chance look it up. Also to those who read this, I'm having a problem here.**

**The name Marina happens to be the name of the Villain in Ariel's Beginning so I'm not sure if maybe I should change the name or keep it the way it is since it's already done. I'll take a vote basically. Thank you.**

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Chapter 3

Fairies Wait

Eyes so elegant and pure like the crystalline sea green peered at the waves of a deep-sea blue, shocked at confronting what five days ago had been so sudden. This moment was different though, now Shimmer was in front of her, and giving her a most quizzical look.

A frown came to play on Shimmer's lips; it was a frown that broke Marina's heart. Such a beautiful girl should never have to frown, especially not since Marina was too shocked to speak. It was even more so when her mind did not function so well after nearly a week of no sleep. As if to prove that, Marina involuntarily yawned her hands rising high above her as she stretched.

"You have not slept in some time Marina." There was no inquiry in her words, only concern.

Beside Marina, Max was quiet his white head pressed against the brunette's back as if to keep her upright. Her blue eyes rose skyward to detect where Scuttle was but she found neither wing nor feather of the seagull. Finally she turned her eyes back to Shimmer and parted her lips to speak but was interrupted.

"Nightmares. It is Insomnia." She said, her melodious voice muttering under her breath.

"Excuse me?" Marina finally said, her voice weaker than she meant. "I can sleep just fine, I just don't want to."

Shimmer turned to Marina the frown on her lips still intact. "I was really hoping we would see each other again on happier terms Marina, I didn't think it would happen so fast and least of all to you."

"It's been five days since I've seen you." Marina supposed that was long enough for something to happen.

"Yes, but I was supposed to have been earlier, one step ahead of her, but she was two more steps ahead."

"Who? What she?" Black brows furrowed, as Marina grew aggravated.

Shimmer had curled her legs underneath her in the warm sand one of her hands tracing her bottom lip as she thought. Marina could see the girl's mind at work in her eyes. After a moment she rested her gaze on Marina's once again trying to smile as before.

The only thing Marina did was raise her brow and lean back a bit but not enough to harm Max pressed against her back.

It wasn't normal to meet a beautiful young girl in the sea and have her suddenly vanish before your eyes only to meet her again five days later in broad daylight suddenly worried about lack the lack of sleep of others. A lot of things may not have been normal in Marina's life but this was by far one of the weirdest. What was she exactly? A mermaid?

Shimmer seemed to notice that Marina was contemplating and quirked her head gently to the side, her hair silkily falling across her pale skin weightlessly. The blonde was hesitant to say anything while the young princess thought. Maybe Marina had just realized that in a world of mermaids, talking fish, sea witches and magic there could be so much more. Melody had never before said anything else, than again maybe it was that the queen knew no more than her daughter did. Certainly her grandmother had never said anything on the subject either, perhaps that was because Marina hardly ventured far from Atlantica. So was that it? Was Shimmer something else entirely?

"What are you?" Marina asked, to Shimmer's surprise. The blonde seemed hesitant and shifted away from the brunette teen resting in the warm sand her silver-white gown slipping off her knees to reveal the silver of her skin to the princess. Shimmer was a beautiful young girl, but what as she?

"My name is Shimmer, I was once Amelia Donna Bell, a human girl who loved everything that was beautiful…including myself." Said Shimmer, with a distaste to having called herself beautiful. "I was vain and utterly conceded, kids my own age hated me for it. The only person I ever thought was beautiful was my mother, and one day she was gone." Shimmer's pale shoulders lifted and sagged for a moment before lifting again with a more forced smile on her pale lips.

"That's another story. What I'm trying to say really fast and easy without sounding just a little damaged in the head is…" she drifted trying to think for a moment. Shimmer knew this had to be quick and that if Marina didn't accept and figure it out there would be hell to pay in the extremely near future. Eventually she frowned again drawing a finger through the sand as she thought.

Aside her, the brunette thirteen year old was still trying to gather her own thoughts on this. The words 'once' and 'human' were putting a different and varying amount of possibilities into her head. The unanswered question about what Shimmer was, for apparently she was mermaid or she wouldn't hesitate.

One of Shimmer's hands reached out and grabbed Marina's sand colored hand in her own grasp. Marina felt a tingle, slight warmth mixed with a cool fresh feeling. "I was really hoping it would have been Princess Ariel or Princess Melody, you don't have the understanding they did." Shimmer opened her hand which, in turn, Marina uncurled her fingers atop the others palm.

Marina's eyes widened as she watched what looked like a silver worm crawl across her skin, but she felt no weight or even a tickling sensation to prove it was even there. As it traced along her fingertips and back down to the center of her palm it grew brighter and finally vanished. Shimmer was frowning even more intensely.

"There's proof, you're the one with the gift. No your grandmother or mother." She sighed.

"I don't understand."

Shimmer shook her head of silvery hair and stood up, her bare feet sinking into the warm sand as she walked closer to the waters edge. Furrowing her brows Marina followed lifting the simple pale yellow skirt up around her ankles as the water barely hit her toes. Behind them Max still slept, bathing in the suns light.

"You know of mermaids, and at times you are a mermaid. You've heard of the sea witch Ursula and her sister Morgana. You know about the magic's of the sea and the ability some of us share speaking to animals." Shimmer said, looking down at the brunette girl just half a head shorter than herself.

"Of course, I grew up around it. My great-grandfather is King Triton."

"Yes, the Sea King. But have you ever wandered about everything else? Obviously the land has many kings and queens." She swept a hand behind them to indicate the land. "But what about the other elements of fire and air? What about the sun and moon? Each is an essential in life and each one has it's own purpose in that life. I can't teach you all of it, only what I know. You were destined to help us Marina."

"Woah there, hold on a minute! Destined? I'm not destined to do anything except grow up and take my mother's place and after that my grandmothers. I don't even know what you're talking about, how can I even be sure it's the truth?" Marina took a step away from Shimmer and closer to the water feeling the coolness hit her ankles in a soft motion that calmed her.

"Let me explain."

"No, I don't need an explanation, whatever it is I don't want a part of it." Marina put her hands over her ears and took another step away; Shimmer attempted to reach out to the princess but was stopped by Max's puppy barks. The canine bared his teeth at the seemingly fourteen year old and helped guide his friend away. Where was Scuttle when she needed him? Marina had seen him before Shimmer came and now he was nowhere in sight.

Well that wasn't the issue at the moment, what was, was getting away from the odd silver girl who stood there looking heartbroken and beat. Maria wanted to help but her nightmares…her nightmares were telling her otherwise; if they weren't trying to warn her of the girl than why was she having them?

Marina raced back to the castle but she waited outside and rested against the steps with Max's head in her lap. She caressed his soft fur with one hand, waiting for either her mother or father to say it was all right to come in. At the moment she was to befuddled and thoughtful to care if they were holding secrets from her, and if they were she had the feeling that did not want to know what any of them were. Most likely it would be more bad news and that was the last thing Marina wanted out of today, especially when the sun was hardly halfway through it's path in the sky.

Humming a tune her grandmother had taught her, she waited until the sun finally was at the halfway point and Carmen, the head keeper –or fancy way of saying number one lady who cleans- came out and told her lunch was ready. It wasn't that Carmen was a bad person that made Marina shrug her shoulders and look slightly annoyed. Actually Carmen had always been one of Marina's best friends but her thoughts were still so cluttered that it was hard not to feel so frustrated with herself or anyone else.

When she'd entered the smaller lunch hall Marina frowned noting that the only person there was Francois offering her a plate of sausage penne, a favorite of hers. "I guess this means my parents are busy?"

"Your mother is preparing to leave for some time and your father is helping, how about lunch?" he said trying to be kind, he'd never seen the princess so glum and in the last week it had scared the staff as much as it scared her parents.

"That's fine, thank you Francois, any chance there's a parfait in my future?" she said, trying to beam up at the tall French-man.

He did grin, though it was lopsided in uncertainty. "Of course, princess. It'll be set by the time you finish eating."

"Thank you."

And he left leaving the princess alone to her meal. It didn't taste the same without her mother pointing out how they looked like sea-tubes or her father's frowning and telling his wife to 'let the girl eat'. The worst of it was that it was her fault they weren't sitting with her, if she hadn't looked so distant maybe they would have come over and sit with her. After three days at the beginning of the week of not responding they gave up and hadn't ate with her once and it seemed that they still thought Marina didn't need anyone to talk to.

Stabbing her fork into a sausage she brought it up to her lips and took a small bite. It was a savory taste of spices from everywhere imaginable, and yet she just couldn't enjoy it completely. Why that was, was even unbeknownst to her.

After a moment she felt some hot leaking from the sides of her eyes, it was hard not to cry when you feel so alone. No one was going to understand what these nightmares were, not when she couldn't even make heads or tail about them.

"Why are you crying, child?" came a voice that was so distant to the girl and yet so very familiar, warm even.

Lifting her blue eyes the crustacean had to hold his breath, he knew those eyes better than anyone. They were Ariel's, Melody's and now they were Marina's, he practically raised all three of them and so couldn't help but feel an immediate guilt for not being able to catch those tears before they started. He felt his claws grow warm though as her angelic smile came to her lips though it was still a little watery in her tears.

"Oh Sebastian you don't know how long I've wanted to talk to you for." She said, her voice shaking a bit. In an act of comfort he leaned forward and placed a pincer against on her the hands on the table.

"I'm here now Marina, why don't you tell me what's on your mind. It's not your grandfather is it?"

She shook her head creasing her brow in a bit of concern, "Why is he okay?"

Immediately he felt he shouldn't have opened his mouth but there was no hiding things from Marina for too long. "He is not well. Aquata and Ariel are doing there best to keep him healthy, and your Aunt Attina and Adella even came in to visit him. Maybe it would be wise for you to see him soon."

Marina didn't like the way he said it and moved to rest one of her fingertips gently on top of his shell, stroking it with tenderness. "He's like your best friend, huh, Sebastian?"

The crustacean nodded and leaned into the brunette, she was easier to care for than the other two. Her own wild streak hadn't been so wild, but then Ariel's greatest adventure hadn't been till she was sixteen, Marina still had time; or so he thought.

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**Thank you for reading still! I appreciate that you guys like it, I can tell :D**

**Anna Craft**


	4. Behir Me O

**Here's the 4th chapter, I'm amazed that this thing is even that popular, a lot of people seem to be reading it.**

**Well you'll have to look up the lyrics to Behir Me O, it's too beautiful a lullabye not to listen to at least one. My grandpa was singing it and it reminded me of the story so Thanks for the inspiration Grandpa! :D**

**So Enjoy readers.**

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Chapter 4

Behir Me O

_Heart pounding in her head, she could feel the pull of something in the ominous shadows before her. The halls were still dark, barely lit by the half-shinning moon coming through the windows. Ground still littered in various broken objects. There was no more running, just a calm hesitant walk awaiting what usually scared her back into reality; it would come, like every other night, it would come._

_Blue eyes lifted to fix on the broken chandelier of the dinning hall, walls nearly collapsing in on themselves; it was a frightful sight and yet Marina had grown used to seeing the destruction of her home. There was nothing new there, nothing except sadness at the knowledge that there was no one home._

_Marina turned away from the room and down yet another hall. It was with all the continuous dreams she had discovered passages she knew nothing of before; she'd never taken or had the time before to unveil them. One of them was under the grand staircase in the ballroom that led into the library; so she went. It wasn't any better in the once book littered room but it had been her favorite one when she was out of the nightmares. That night there was only one little article missing in the room, the music box. Her mother and grandmother would sing to her with its music and teach her as she got older, but it was gone._

_Slowly, vaguely, a tear fell followed by another…_

**--**

For most of the night he'd watched the young princess toss in her slumber and mumble names he'd never heard. The crustacean was at a loss, his other two charges had been so easy to show what was wrong, but Marina was hardly like Ariel or Melody, she was a quiet –though naturally happy- child.

He turned to the thirteen year olds visage and frowned. Against her lightly tanned cheeks were glistening diamond-like tears. Marina was crying in her sleep and it aggravated Sebastian further that he could not know why they were caused or how to stop them. Very carefully he stroked a pincer across her soft cheek and felt his insides twist at the whimper she conjured as her ocean blue eyes fluttered open, blinking back more tears.

"Scuttle?" she inquired, Sebastian felt a pang at what only could be described as jealousy when she mentioned the old coot of a bird. Quickly he pushed it aside, it was completely inappropriate for an old crab like himself. After all, the gull was her best friend since he could hardly be around her what with his duties under the sea, though they were becoming less as Ariel took over below.

Most had supposed, since Ariel was the youngest of her siblings, that Attina would take the crown, but with Attina, Adella, and Aquata all married and with their own jobs to carry out they could not take it. The other three didn't have the mind to take the crown and so it only left Ariel and Eric to the job, Triton was still hoping it wouldn't come to that but age is without mercy.

"It's me, Marina." He said.

"Oh, Sebastian, sorry. It's just, I haven't seen Scuttle since earlier this morning and I thought maybe he'd come back." Her voice cracked as she pushed back a tear and lifted herself up to sit against the headboard. No, he concluded as Marina curled up without another word, she was not the typical teenager.

"Are you alright? You were crying." He inquired watching the brunette illuminated by the full moon outside.

Before she could answer something glimmered at the corner of her eye and she turned to the window scooping Sebastian into her hands protectively. There was something there in the dark, something she supposed had been watching her sleep. Sebastian had never been the one to take in his full surroundings when he was in thought.

"Who are you?" She demanded of the silhouette on her balcony. They didn't answer but took a small step forward. Rather gracefully Marina slipped off the side of the bed and crouched on the other side with Sebastian still held protectively in her hands towards her abdomen. The crab hadn't seen anything but he had no doubt that the overly perceptive child would have detected something out of the norm as quickly as either generation before her.

A light chime-like chuckle rang from the balcony, stepping into the light was a platinum blonde male, he could have been in his early twenties or late teens, but immediately Sebastian was on his guard while the princess tried to remember what her father had taught her about defending herself.

Tall and slender the man was probably about her father's height, his silvery blonde hair reminded her a lot of Shimmer's but there was a dark black streak covering the left side of his face. His eyes were a dark nearly black color but even from her distance she could see the twinge of blue in them. Marina also noted that, like Shimmer's skin, it seemed to glow in the pale moonlight and probably glittered in the sunlight too.

"A pleasure to meet you Princess, there's no need to be afraid." He stepped forward and held out one of the hands that were casually placed behind his back. "I only meant to return a friend."

"A friend?" she said narrowing her blue eyes in suspicion as she rose cautiously from her side of the bed.

"Yes, Princess, a friend."

Marina took a breath and stepped forward placing Sebastian carefully on her blue blankets. He wanted to reach out and pull Marina closer to him but he was nothing but a small crab, he didn't have that strength over someone ten times his size.

The man smiled and he brought the other hand forward to reveal a peacefully sleeping, caged bird.

"Scuttle!" she exclaimed reaching for the cage but it was pulled from her reach just as suddenly as it had been within it.

"Not so fast Princess. You must hear me out first since you did not so much as listen to one word of my sisters."

"Sister?" she questioned looking up at the man.

"You've met Shimmer, correct?"

"Yes, sir, and who are you?"

"Did I forget to mention that? Well my apologies, my name is Crescent, Shimmer's brother. I'm surprised she did not mention me. It's been a week since you two started talking right? She didn't mention me once?" he seemed genuinely hurt by this and that was before Marina could even mention she hadn't talked to Shimmer for a week since the first day she met her till that very morning.

"Well that's something for another time," he said waving his free hand in the air. "I'm here to finish what you did not allow my sister to say, do you know you forced her into tears this morning, poor thing is probably still blubbering to Luna."

It didn't affect Marina as he had hoped; she merely stared hopefully at the sleeping gull. She pushed back a lock of her brown hair and turned her blue eyes to his dark ones furrowing her brows to a sterner set. Shimmer was crying and Marina was supposed to feel bad? That didn't sit well with the princess.

"Marina?" she turned around to look at the helpless crab giving her the most quizzical look. Sebastian was quiet and she'd forgotten he was even there in the room.

"Is he the one that made you cry, Marina?" Sebastian asked turning his much more mature gaze in the direction of the male. Marina looked over at Crescent and shook her head.

"No, his sister did." She replied.

"'Cause you're nothing but a big baby." Crescent said taking a step forward. "If you'd just suck it up and take it there wouldn't be a problem, it'd be all dandy, but no –you have to go and be one of those people who denies destiny!" he was no where near shouting, but the accusation in his voice hit home with Marina.

"Don't talk to this girl about destiny, man." Sebastian moved closer to the edge of the bed and Marina moved closer in case Crescent tried anything at all to hurt her other friend, she didn't trust any of them. Not Shimmer, not Crescent, not any one of these beautiful people.

"Destiny has already ran it's course through the generations before her, leave this one be." The crustacean continued.

Crescent stepped closer to the two, within arms length of Marina. He eyed the crab with a smirk on his lips. "My, my, my, you are one feisty old crab. Your heart is so much younger however, and beating very strongly eh?" he winked at the crab who's stern persona failed him for a moment with the silvery mans words.

Straightening Crescent chuckled. "I will speak of destiny, especially to you two. You, crab, are more involved than you…" Crescent drifted, there was a sound coming from the hallway. Marina, too, heard it and took steadier breaths in case someone came to listen at her door. It passed and when they both turned their attention back to each other they took note that the red crab was not on top of the bed anymore.

"Sebastian?" Marina questioned looking around before turning her accusing gaze to Crescent who held his hands up in defense. "What did you do with him?"

"Nothing, I swear, he was there a minute ago."

Scuttle still slept in the cage, Marina was kneeling next to the bed and Crescent towered over her looking about the room in confusion. Sebastian was as fast on land as in water so for all they knew he could have slipped out the balcony or door. That thought however proved faulty when Crescent felt a tickle at his side; he turned his head and looked down at his hip where he kept about five different pouches. "What are you doing?"

"This." Sebastian stabbed him heard with his pincer, the skin under his pale white shirt broke and the male hissed in pain trying to pry the crab from him as Sebastian stabbed another pincer into his skin. "Leave Marina alone!"

"Stop it, stupid crab!" Crescent reached over and barely managed to grab Marina's wrist when she lifted her arm to shield herself. "Now let me go or I'll take her with me now, no questions asked."

"Don't touch her!" Sebastian aimed his pincer once more but it cut off two of his pouches. Crescent was wide eyed as he bent down to grab the pouches but they already fallen over knocking the crab off of his hip as well.

"No, no, no, no." Crescent moaned trying to sift through the dust conjuring up in the space already. He cursed finally moving away and coughing at the purple dust the contents of the pouches produced. "Oh no… by the moon, Aurora is going to kill me!"

"Sebastian? Sebastian?" Marina stood up and tried to move forward but was stopped quickly by Crescents arm around her. "Let go of me! Stop it! Sebastian."

There was a cough and Marina heard a voice, a deep voice that still held a Jamaican accent but seemed years younger than the articulation she'd grown accustomed to. "Let her go." The voice coughed again and a hand appeared pushing the dust away from him, at that moment they seemed to realize they even had a hand. "W-what happened to…"

"Marina? Marina, are you okay?" the door was pushed open by Melody who quickly caught her breath backing into Justin who already had his sword drawn.

"Who the he-" he managed to cough out.

Crescent promptly let go of Marina's small frame and pushed her away onto the bed. He left Scuttle alone and took hold of a boys shoulder; the boy could have been no more than sixteen years old. His sky blue eyes clashed strangely with the strawberry-blonde hair that fell loosely to his shoulders, his tanned torso was bare. The only thing that told Marina who it was –besides the accent- was how awkwardly he stood on two feet and the way he seemed to want to curl closer to the floor.

"Sebastian?"

"Marina." He rang trying to reach out for the girl but was caught and pushed back by Crescent.

"You want him back, start accepting the truth." And just as Justin had plunged forward there was a bright gleam of light that came and went with great speed leaving no trace of the two beings, only a shocked Marina whom Melody quickly collected in her arms.

She didn't know anymore. How had that happened? That was Sebastian, her cranky old crab of a Sebastian, and yet now it was not, was it?

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**It's a little shorter than I expected, sorry about that. Chapter 5 will hopefully be a little longer and a ton more eventful, we're really getting into it now. Don't Forget to Review.**

**:x: Anna Craft.**


	5. All Through the Night

_So yeah, I'm REALLY late about getting this chapter up but I got so caught up in my **Twilight** fic that I just shruged this one off._

_Okay All through the night is of course another lullabye that you should look up, it' really pretty and hope you all enjoy this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it, Read and review. Later._

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Chapter 5

**All Through the Night**

For a week Marina walked up and down the shore with Max II by her side. The night Sebastian was taken she cried till the days afternoon, she had not even bothered to see her mother off, who had no choice but to go to Atlantica now. When Marina did emerge from her room it was only to eat dinner with her father, she said not a word, shed not a tear. Max was her only companion, Crescent had taken Scuttle back and Sebastian was his latest hostage. Even despite all her father did there was no word of a Shimmer or Crescent in the kingdom.

When they'd first come to find their daughter that night Marina didn't even know how to explain the mysterious being in her room, let alone the one with strawberry blonde hair and a Jamaican accent.

Melody had become worried that she'd made an enemy in her younger years the way Ariel had done. Were these two beings alike the Morgana she had to endure as a child? It seemed unlikely since nothing had happened since that time that would wish to hurt her in the future. Marina was alone on this part and Melody would have to warn Atlantica and her mother.

The beach seemed the most likely place for Marina to make up her mind, after the second day she'd quickly come to the decision on how she would recover her friends. Friday came and went though and Marina still sat with her toes barely grazing the cool water of the sea. There was still no sign of either of the silvery haired siblings. Whatever it was that Shimmer had been trying to convey to her she was ready to listen to now at the hopes of getting her friends back.

Marina lifted a stick from the sand and threw it into the water watching the puppy throw himself into the steady waves after the stick. The thirteen year olds lips were stoic as she felt herself grow angry. "Why aren't you here?" she muttered to herself. Shimmer had yet to come, Crescent had not shown his face.

"Sweetheart, shouldn't you be inside with Daddy?"

Marina looked up from her huddled position on the sand. Melody sat in the shallows allowing her lovely red tail to soak in the salty sea. Since Marina was a small child she'd always admired her mother's fair beauty. Dark raven colored hair, fair skin and rosy cheeked with the most azure eyes in which her daughter had inherited. At sixteen Melody had gone from the shirt garment to shells alike her mother and aunts, though at times she chose to wear human tops.

"It's not that late, Mother." Marina replied as Max came back to nudge at Melody. "I'll stay out just a little bit longer and than I'll go inside."

Melody smiled and laid against the wet sand. "The sunset is going to be beautiful."

They were silent for a moment and waited those minutes for the beginning of nights coming.

"Mother?" Marina asked.

"Hmm?" Melody continued to watch the dying sun.

"Are there any other's out there?"

"Like?"

"Well, you know, you're a mermaid, but are there other things?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but the world is full of mysteries, Marina. I'm sure there has got to be something out there."

Marina was silent and kept her head bent over her knees. Scooting closer Melody wrapped one of her damp arms around her child and kissed her cheek. "Hunny you're going to have to tell me sometime what it is that's bugging you. You've been so jumpy lately. Is it Sebastian's absence?"

"Something like that." She muttered.

Melody didn't know that one of the boys in her daughter's room had been the red crustacean, or whatever he was now. Marina didn't know how to explain that the Sea Kings advisor had become human; she was sure that if she found Sebastian than he would be able to turn him back into a crab. At that, Marina didn't want to be blamed for the accident, she wasn't even sure whose fault it was.

"We're doing our best to find him, Dear." Melody whispered, leaning her head against Marina's shoulder her damp hair soaking through the pale blue dress her daughter wore. "Would you like to come down with me? You could keep a regular check on things."

"No Mom I need to stay up here." She didn't say anymore than that and slid away from her mother. Looking upwards Marina watched a few clouds drift in front of the dim moon revealing itself to the dying light of the sun.

"What are you waiting for?"

Marina turned to her mother with a frown on her lips. "Not what, Mom. Who."

Standing up Marina brushed the sand off of her and patted the sheep dog that was happily chewing on his stick. Max got up as well when he saw Marina standing. "Night, Mom." She said simply to her mother, who reluctantly pushed herself back into the waves and away from her daughter.

"Good night, Dear." Melody was gone before Marina even left the beach.

Marina hadn't meant to be so cold to her mother but she felt so guilt for adding another grievance to her mother's heart. The young girl felt that she could have somehow prevented Sebastian's turning and taking. It was a thought that lingered in her teenage mind with regret that she hadn't taken much more action than standing there gaping at the crab-turned-human.

The brunette sighed looking down at the sand turning a darker color and coming to a slow glow underneath the pale moon. Her eyes adjusted to the dark as she continued to stare at the tide being pulled by the rising moon until they nearly crashed into her knees. It was a fresh feeling, a slow longing deep inside her wept for the sea that made up a half of her heart. So captivated by the sea was she that she hardly realized a second source of glimmering light approaching. When Max yipped it startled her and Marina looked up to notice that the glimmer of light was coming from a person.

Standing atop a few rocks was the girl she'd been waiting for, for nearly a week. Just as quickly as she had approached she was turning and running.

"Shimmer! No, wait!" Marina was about to take off but tripped in the tide. As the girl got further Marina struggled to stand upright. Next to her Max was anxiously trying to get her to stand. "Max," she said kneeling and taking the puppy's furry head into her hands. "Go get Daddy, Max, go!"

The dog left, whether or not it was to follow orders she didn't know. When she did stand she quickly tore off towards the last place she'd seen Shimmer. By the time she'd reached the face of the rock wall Marina found she couldn't climb it well, her slippers had no grip and wouldn't allow her to go far. Quickly she kicked them off and gripped the rock again hauling herself up. The knee-length pale blue dress made it easy for her to maneuver but not when it was weighed down by water from the sea. Nonetheless she made it to the top and had to watch her footing as she made her way towards a faint glow that was still going further down the beach.

"Shimmer?" she called, but the other still did not stop.

For ten more minutes she kept running Marina did her best not to fall and scratch herself up on the rocks. When she did come to a standstill she looked at her surroundings. Marina hadn't been this far down the beach in a long time, and the last time she was still being hauled around by her nursemaid. "Shimmer?" she called again hoping that the girl would peek around a corner or something.

The night air was still and a soft breeze blew through tickling her chocolate tresses. Her feet were beginning to hurt as she dragged them along the rough rock on the coast. No more than three feet away was a tidal pool, in fact if she remembered correctly, there was a whole line of tidal pools down the coastline starting with the first right beside her.

"I'm sorry." Tinkled a voice so delicate and worrisome.

Marina turned around and looked at the glittering curtain of Shimmer's hair in her face as she sat elevated on a pillar of coral her bare feet curling around a ridge to keep herself seated there. The gossamer material she was wrapped in made her seem more like a mermaid than Marina ever could. Shimmer lifted her head so that her sea green eyes poured their own ocean out.

Very slowly Marina lowered herself next to the tidal pool. Shimmer continued to look at her, tears creeping down her moonlit cheeks. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"What are you talking about?" Marina asked since Shimmer didn't seem able to explain.

"My brother, he took way your friends and I'm so sorry. Crescent can be so heartless sometimes, but I didn't expect him to do that to you, really."

"It's not your fault, it's mine for getting them involved."

Both of them watched each other until Shimmer wiped away the remainder of tears from her eyes and in a small flash of light sat beside the brunette princess. Shimmer smiled delicately and took hold of the thirteen year olds hand, "Will you hear me out now, please?"

Marina could see how childish the seemingly sixteen year old was, but she needed to be home before her father grew frantic. Her cerulean eyes trailed to the water, it's deep blue mesmerizing, surely someone would see her if something happened. The princess was protected in land and sea.

Slowly, Marina nodded her head.

Shimmer clasped her other hand around the one she already held and turned to Marina her sea-green eyes becoming deep and serious.

"Okay, Princess Marina, human and mermaid, daughter to Queen Melody and King Justin, Granddaughter to the valiant Queen Ariel."

"Do you have to say all that?" Marina asked feeling a bit uncomfortable about it.

"Well, sort of, I need to be formal with our prophetic lady."

"What?" Marina inquired, shock in her voice.

"Oh, by the moon, you just made me come out and say it –and I try to be so delicate."

"I don't get it. I'm not prophetic in any way. When I was born I had a mother and father who are strong and a grandmother and grandfather who are stronger, but me, I'm the generation who gets to be normal for a change."

"Being a mermaid and human is normal?" Marina was quiet, "Now hush, you said you would listen." Shimmer took a breath and turned to pale moonlit water of the tidal pool.

"There is King Triton of the Seas, and a King and Queen of the lands. There are many other kings and queens out there Princess, some of them in peace and other's at war. The sea witch, Ursula, was the trigger of a war for the sea, but now that is over. On land war is always being fought but it always ends too. The fire, wind, light, everything has a life, but I live within the Celestial heavens, I live in the night."

"Up above," She pointed to the half moon and twinkling stars over their had. "There are things called fairies that work in the night, like there are mermaids who cultivate the seas, we fairies nurture the night."

"Our queen passed on some time ago and now we are under attack by a being who goes by the name Eclipse. We don't know what to do anymore and before our queen died she recited to us the choosing of our next queen: _The third generation of land and sea, who yearns for more than what they could be_. We easily came to the conclusion of mermaids, but we didn't know which one. That is, until we heard of Princess Ariel who yearned, but she didn't have the gift, than Princess Melody, we hoped she would have it but we were wrong, she too didn't hold the gift. Than we understood that you, Princess Marina are the third generation who yearned for more than what you could be."

"Me? But… but I never once wanted to be more than a mermaid or a human."

"Does the sea truly satisfy you? Or walking on land?" Shimmer asked.

"It's a part of me." Marina responded, she didn't want to be special.

"That wasn't my question."

Marina hesitated for a moment than shook her head taking a breath in defeat.

"Princess it's nothing to be ashamed about, you really our the true queen and you can defeat Eclipse."

That struck a chord in Marina: defeat? How could she defeat anyone? The most Marina knew how to do was wield the Trident a bit and parry with a sword, but it wasn't something that could take down whoever this Eclipse person was.

"Now I'm sorry." Marina stated standing up bringing herself closer to the tidal pool and the edge of the ocean.

"Why's that, Princess?"

"Because I can't help you, I can't save you. Even if I am this so called queen, I don't know how to save anybody." She said with another step her azure eyes on the dark waves.

Shimmer smiled and stood. "We'll teach you our ways."

"I'm sorry, I can't." and with all the speed Marina could muster in her lithe body she pushed herself into the sea grabbing hold of the pearl around her neck –a piece that her mother and grandmother also wore for the same purpose.

Before Shimmer could do anything, the brunette was gone with just a last glimpse at a navy blue tail.

_While the moon her watch is keeping,  
All through the night;  
While the weary world is sleeping,  
All through the night;  
O'er thy spirit gently stealing,  
Visions of delight revealing,  
Breathes a pure and holy feeling,  
All through the night._

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**_Hope you all loved it._**

:x: Anna Craft


	6. Little Fish

**Sweet! First Chapter of the Year and it's not Too late. It's nice and long at least, and I spiced it up a little just to give you wonderful readers something different to look at. Well for those of you who are reading my other stories I've decided that since I have six chapters on both my Little Mermaid story and Twilight story I will put up the first chapter to my Supernatural story next. Not till next week though and maybe by next Fri. I should have chapter 7 to this one up.**

**Thank you for making this so popular, love you guys tons! Keep reading.**

:x: Anna Craft

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Chapter 6

**Little Fish**

The water was cool around her and it refreshed the side of her that had longed for the sea. Marina at times forgot how much the sea called to her and just how much a part of it she was. There was no doubting how free and safe she felt in the dark depths of the moonlit ocean but she also knew the dangers, for the minute she'd activated the magic inside the pearl anyone of the two mermaids who held the same article would know. Her cerulean eyes looked down at her hands and the rest of herself as the water came in around her, enveloping her in her supposedly true nature.

Marina's thick brown hair came down from the ribbon it had been in and she merely had on a white camisole from the shore. The thing that irked her was how much she changed from human to mermaid. While as a human she had two legs that were strong and lean, but as a mermaid she had a royal blue tail that was good for swimming but flimsy if pierced. As a human she had evenly tanned skin she earned from her father, but as a mermaid her skin was a tad paler and shimmered like the sea. Everything about her was every bit the sirens tales people told –beauty to lure unsuspecting sailors.

Just as Marina had thought she didn't have to wait long before an almost coral like color had appeared and her mother pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Are you alright? Oh, tell me you're all right. Is something wrong? Your father? Sebastian?" Melody began to ramble, she wasn't so much an overprotective mother most of the time but with the recent events Marina didn't expect any less from her.

"I'm so sorry, Mom." Marina was able to mutter in her mother's embrace, she felt like a child like a pathetic little five year old rather than a thirteen year old. She wrapped her arms around her mother's form and held tighter than anyone in the world could ever hold their mother.

Melody's cerulean eyes gaze down at her little mer-girl and a knot in her chest started. It was plain and obvious that something was wrong with her little girl and whatever it was had to be bad. Holding still to Marina, Melody started toward Atlantica and caressed her daughters hair.

"What are you sorry for, Dear, will you tell me?" Melody asked.

Marina was quiet for a while and than took a deep fresh gulp of the sea water and looked up at her mother's visage. "I'm ready Mom, I'm ready to tell you everything."

Melody frowned but nodded her head and continued forward. "Alright Marina, everything. First we'll find Grandmother."

* * *

"You can't cage me like an animal! Let! Me! Out!" came the cry of a voice in a Jamaican accent. Sky blue orbs burned in an icey fire as he peered through the bars of his prison. The strawberry-blonde hair on his head cascaded in waves like the ocean down to his shoulders but the growl of frustration was near animalistic.

"Relax, at least they gave you clothes 'cause that sight before was more then I could stand." said a white gull stuck in his own cage hooked to the ceiling a few feet in front of the teenagers cell.

"I look like a poofy pirate, it's not a sight I ever wanted to see in the first place." said the boy tugging at the puffy white tunic he wore.

"Don't know, gives you that sea-worthy look." joked the seagull who ducked his white feathered head low enough to eye the other. "You okay there?" he asked.

The boy sat down laying his head against the bars, his eyes looking up at the stone ceiling, or at least he thought it was stone, it seemed almost like glass with nothing but a bright light on the other side. "Do I look okay, man?"

Silence fell between them as the boy put his head in his hands and leaned over his knees, he felt helpless, he needed to get back to the sea, to his king, his princess. Marina, she'd been the last one to see him, but would she tell them about what happened, would they even believe her? His poor princess, they were causing her so much stress. The thought struck him hard as his brows furrowed, he'd thought it again his princess Marina belonged to no one and yet… Well he didn't think on it very long before he could pick up the sound of someone approaching. Maybe he could actually get some answers

"I never thought Crescent would ever mess up this bad." spoke a high pitched female voice. From around the corner came a small girl, her blonde hair short and curly framing her porcelain face and silver eyes. Barefooted she traipsed like a ballerina over to the cell where the boy sat and knelt down to his eye level.

"Morning, I hear your name's Sebastian! Well it's nice to meet you, I'm Starlit, youngest of the eight Dream Fairies." she said baring her perfectly straight teeth. Youngest was for sure, she seemed only about eight years old. The woman behind her, on the other hand, was more majestic. Straight, gleaming black hair fell loosely to the back of her bare knees and deep blue eyes that seemed to hold stars of their own were things that Sebastian had only normally seen in the beauty of mermaids. Even the her pale skin glimmered in perpetual moonlight that gave him a sense of slight wonder but not enough to put him in a better mood.

"Oh, she isn't a Dream Fairy, this is Luna, she's queen of the Moon Fairies." Starlit cheerily introduced the queen who's kindly smile still did not phase the once-crab.

Sebastian kept his blue eyes on the queen's visage but eventually turned away to face the small girl. "Child, why am I here?"

"You speak funny," she giggled in reference to his accent, and poked his arm through the bars to which Sebastian did not recoil, he could not fear a child. "Well, my big brother Crescent really goofed up by letting you touch his changing-poof, that's why your poofed, and how you got here 'cause we're not sure the poof stuff will work on you or not. It could be really dangerous if you had powers and didn't know how to use 'em."

"Forgive her for not a thorough enough explanation, since their queen passed on there has been no time to teach the young ones of their magic." spoke Luna who kneeled next to Starlit keeping the girl hushed.

"Crescent and Shimmer are twins, born of both Dreams and Moon, since they are so ashamed of not having a real place amongst the fairies they felt obligated to find the new queen. They are inexperienced in their magic and that must have been the reason for your transformation."

Sebastian merely looked at the queen feeling himself grow even more hopeless, he didn't want to tell her it was his own fault at attempted heroics that he'd ended up the way he was at the moment. Not that it was all to terrible but having four limbs instead of eight was really unnerving in a sense, and the whole walking forward thing was still new to him as well.

Starlit opened her mouth to speak again but there was the crash of a door being opened and closed which caused the girl to flinch and hide behind the queen.

"Hey! Who's in here? Starlit I swear if you came in here without my permission you- oh, Mother, I'm sorry, I didn't know." Crescent was startled to find the other fairies in hear but tried his best to recompose himself and be a bit warmer towards his mother.

"My son," Luna started cut off by Crescent.

"No, Mom, I know I'm sorry, I screwed up, I kept it there thinking there was no harm, if she said yes it was handy. I didn't know it worked on animals." he said a furrow in his pale brows.

"That's the thing, Crescent, it doesn't work on animals." said Luna.

"What?"

"Yup! I remember when Twinkle accidentally dropped some on a seal and all that happened was that it go really annoyed and splashed us." Said the giggly Starlit.

Everyone turned to Sebastian and saw his eyes grow wider as he took in the realization that for some reason their magic had worked on him when it didn't work on any other animal out in the world. "What's the meaning of this?" he said standing up to his full height which was about the height of the older seeming Crescent.

"It couldn't be." Luna said.

"We still have our king though," Starlit said a small whimper in her voice.

"It couldn't be, he's a crab by nature, and…Mother there has to be rules against this!" cried Crescent.

"There are no rules Crescent, to make or break. We don't know the secrets of the world."

"I don't understand." Sebastian spoke up. Luna turned to him and shook her head in a weary motion.

"Neither do we, sir." she said her beautiful face turning down to her bare feet and gathering the dark skirts around her like a security blanket. "If we can't figure this out than the night will belong to Eclipse, we would lose everything, and think of how the rest of the world would be affected. Eclipse would block out everything, the moon, the sun, the mermaids you know so well will cease to exist, we fairies will be at constant war… the list is infinite."

Sebastian's lip twitched downward, the mermaids, "What about the humans?" he asked wondering if perhaps the Trident's power could protect them mer-people.

"They would die sooner, they live off the sun." Crescent said, the black streak in his hair covering half his face as he started to unlock Sebastian's cell. "I'm going to let you out if you promise not to start any conflict. Perhaps we can use you for something."

The teen scowled up at the Fairy and shook his head, "I promise not to make any conflict, man, but I am not doing anything without knowing what it's for."

Crescent smiled lightly and opened the cell allowing Sebastian to step out. Luna put a delicate hand on his shoulder and led him forward, "My son will explain everything," she said, "Crescent I leave Sebastian in your care."

Starlit bounced over to the birds cage looked up at it and reached up as the cage slowly fell into her petite hands. "I'll take care of Mr. Scuttle here." she said with a giggle in her voice and with a graceful flit left the room followed by Luna.

Crescent's near black eyes looked at the boy across from him with an incredulous look of superiority. It, however, did not last for long or affect Sebastian who had been around royalty all his life. Instead the once-crab ran a hand through his long hair and strode forward on bare feet toward the exit. Crescent followed being somewhat silent and allowed Sebastian to walk out first and felt all to smug as he heard the gasp from the boy.

All around were figures who seemed to walk out of human fantasy, made of moonlight and wisps of air, some more graceful than others, but each beauty in their own ways. Even men, who towered over the slight women, had a beauty that did not purge their masculinity.

The floors all glimmered in white's and silver, seeming almost liquid but feeling so solid. Pillars reminded him of a grand temple he'd seen in one of Melody's old books about the Greek. Looking up his sky blue eyes met the dark, almost black blue that was the night sky, stars twinkled and the moon shone brighter than anything he'd ever witnessed before in his life. All around the moon bathed everyone in it's light, the smell of the ocean tickled his senses, and the sound of a music, singing, seemed to emit from somewhere and everywhere.

"This is…is-" Sebastian started to say something but he couldn't get the word past his lips.

"Beautiful, ethereal, pretty?" Crescent assisted.

"I don't know, there's just no words to describe it." the boy replied taking a few steps forward. For a moment longer his sky blues wandered the area and seemed to place it all into his memory. When he was finally over his stupor he turned back to Crescent and kept his voice slightly warm, enough so that he wasn't the uninvited guest anymore. "So you are going to tell me why you were in Marina's room?"

Crescent grimaced and nodded his head, but before he could say another word edgewise two slender arms wrapped around him pulling him into an embrace from behind. Confused Sebastian took a step back while Crescent pried the arms off of him. "Let go, you aren't out of trouble yet, Shimmer."

"I'm sorry Crescent, really I went back and she got away, she's in the ocean now." Shimmer said, small star-like tears falling from her green blue eyes.

Shaking his head he held his sisters wrist and brought her around to show the other, "Sebastian this is my sister, my twin, Shimmer."

"Twin? She looks a lot younger than you, man." he said, confusion written on his face.

"Yes well, girls and boys alter age appearances when they wish, it's a little trickier than things mermaids do." Crescent said. Then turning to Shimmer once more he pushed her toward another hall and said, "Go find Luna, tell her what happened and maybe try to figure out our next move."

Shimmer nodded her head, passed a smile in Sebastian's direction and then bounced down the hall.

"Now we can talk." Crescent said, gesturing for Sebastian to keep walking.

"Yes, I'd like that." he said.

"It's a pretty simple explanation. About half a century ago the Queen of the Dream Fairies left, before she went though she left us a small prophecy. 'The third generation of land and sea, who yearns for more then what they could be' is what she told us. Well first deducing something of land and sea, the only possibility was a mermaid, Water fairies can't exist at all out of the water. Then there was the whole third generation problem. Everyone is the third generation of something or the fifth, sixth, etcetera. But we heard of Princess Ariel and how she yearned for more then what she could be. Maybe she was the third of a generation who did. It turned out that wasn't so."

Crescent sighed and took a breath before looking back at Sebastian who took it in like the senior crab he no longer was. "When Ariel didn't posses the gift we quickly forgot about her, and then the Water fairies passed on a message about the new queen's daughter, Princess Melody. Perhaps she was a third generation, but again we were wrong, she had a different destiny then was meant for our queen." This time Crescent paused in front of a room, where he stopped to face the sky blue eyes of Sebastian.

"As we waited for Melody to grow up and possibly have a third adventures offspring, something happened. Nightmares became more reoccurring in peoples sleep and most of us were starting to rely on potions and powders rather then our own magic. We were being darkened out by someone known as Eclipse. He's a wicked man who is trying to take Luna's place as king of the Moon fairies, but since we didn't have a ruler he set his sights on us first." Crescent opened the door and showed a room of beautifully damaged people, scars ran down some faces, other's were healing and many crying. "Slowly they will become Nightmare fairies or die. But our leader can heal them, we just need her."

"We rejoiced for the birth of Princess Marina for we all sensed the birth of our new queen, some of us had our magic back. We waited, let her grow to see if she would surely have that longing and without fail, just like her mother she did. What it was she doesn't know yet, but it's us, it's her people, she yearns for us without knowing." Crescent said closing the door again. "Sebastian, we need Princess Marina more then anything else, she is our only hope. Her power will be immense and Eclipse would not stand a chance, please understand."

Sebastian absorbed it like a diplomat, and like any ambassador from the sea he stood straight and nodded his head. "You'll have to explain it to her mother, and Ariel, they would convince her. Those two know what their choices did and they will have to show Marina that too. I will help you, but first you need to get her out of the water, mermaids are slippery creatures."

Crescent smiled and nodded his head. They were on the same page now.

You've been swimming all day,

In the ocean so wide;

Now it's time to rest,And float

with the ho, little fish,

Good night, good night,Hey ho, little fish,

good night


	7. The White Seal's Lullabye

**Sorry, loves!** I know a lot of you are reading this and I'm so sorry I've been taking forever because life has been immensley hectic. With this chapter I've now updated each story at least once, not mention completed one for a totally different categories.

Oh and please remember that all my titles are based on Lullabies, I find them apropriate for this story and I make sure to find a small relation in the story when I put them down. This one is by far on of my favorites next to _Beautiful Dreamer_.

You know, I've been thinking, because I have a lot of readers and a good amount of reviews on this story I question everyone's favorite character. So when, or if you review, why not tell my which is your fav. character? You would think mine was Marina since I created her and all, but frankly I'm loving Sebastian a lot more. :D

Well without further interruption here you go.

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Chapter 7

**The White Seal's Lullabye**

"And so, I didn't know what she was talking about so I jumped into the water." Marina said, her cerulean eyes looking to those in which she'd inherited from her mother, who'd inherited it in turn from her own mother.

Melody, curled onto the floor of the throne room, looked up at Ariel with a look of great concern and confusion. Neither mermaid knew what to make of this. Surely Ariel had been involved in treaties between the Water Fairies but they'd never once had to come in contact with those of the other Fairy-kind. Would it suddenly mean war if they choose to kidnap the only granddaughter of the soon-to-be Queen Ariel?

"Marina, sweetheart," Ariel began, moving to lean over her chocolate haired granddaughter. "They cannot make you do anything you do not want to. But perhaps, well, what if the prophecy is real?" she asked, turning her head to Melody this time.

The raven haired mermaid shook her head and uncurled herself to float aside her mother. "Then what, we deliver my daughter to war? Mother, you can't think-"

"Melody, I'm just saying that I've seen magic, and prophecies, and people who ignore them all my life. If there's a mistake we'll find it, but we can't simply hide Marina forever." Ariel reasoned.

"Well why not, she can stay in Atlantica where they can't reach her." Melody's voice rising in the slightest, her fists curling.

They continued arguing, Ariel wanted to reason with the Fairies, to hear their side, Melody wanted nothing more then to keep her daughter from them. In all honestly, Marina was rooting for her mother, she wanted nothing to do with the Fairy about as much as they wanted everything to do with her. Marina sat on the floor, bringing her royal blue tail up to place her chin on, enjoying the cool feel of scales on her cheek. The ocean's cool temperature didn't affect her as a mermaid so sometimes it was hard feeling anything nice and cold under the sea.

As her gaze drifted around the throne room in which she spent a lot of her childhood, she noted that the trident was positioned by the throne instead of with it's owner. She found that slightly peculiar and looked up at her mother and grandmother still engaged in a heated argument. Silently she slipped away from their line of vision and towards the trident. Sebastian had told her once only a true descendant of Poseidon could lift the trident from it's stand. So as she lifted the trident with little resistance she found herself feeling a warm pride.

Taking another glance over at the first and second generation she left the throne room and quickly located a guard in whom directed her where she wanted to go with a bow that made her flush. It was easy on land to forget she was a princess because the staff and guards were like family, but in the ocean they all seemed to be weighed down with a ton more respond; of course that may also have been because she held the trident in her hands.

Once she was in front of the room covered by a think blanket of algae she nodded at the guards positioned there and immediately they allowed the young princess in. Marina clung to the trident as she entered and let the smallest of smiles grace her lips at what she found.

King Triton had certainly grown older, and his skin was a tad paler then it should be but the way he spoke the school of fish that had come in his window was so much like the way Marina remembered that it was hard to think he was sick. His hands rose in fell exuberantly as he weaved a tale of the utmost height hardly aware that his great-granddaughter had just entered the room. Triton's voice was strong, and his energy never seemed to deplete, even as he made a large wave of his hand that nearly caused a current to push the fish back against the wall. They giggled and Marina did as well which then alerted the fish and thus King Triton.

"Marina?" he questioned, as if he couldn't believe she was there.

"We'll see you another time, your highness. " Said one of the fish. In a flurry of red and gold they circled around the young princess and then the king before filling out of the room.

King Triton turned to look at Marina and gave a grin that seemed warmer then the sun on an August afternoon. "I didn't hear you were down here, and what have you got there?" he said, his hand out, palm up.

Marina flushed slightly and came closer placing her small hand in his like she used to when he was well and not so weak. "It wasn't planned Papou," Marina said. As a child it was hard to decipher between her grandfathers Eric and Triton so her mother had come up with the solution to call her Kingly grandfather by the Greek word for grandfather since it was the language in which Poseidon was most familiar. "As for this, I felt that sick or not a King should never be without his sword, err, or in your case, trident."

The king chuckled and used his other hand to reach out for the trident. "Thank you, Marina, you always make me feel so much better."

"You always know how to make me feel better too, Papou." she leaned into Triton, letting him wrap a still strong arm around her. She'd always felt safe with her father and grandfather, but having her great-grandfather there was life feeling all three of them wrapped around her.

"Is something troubling you?" he finally asked, the whiskers of his mustache tickling her as he bent to kiss her gently on the forehead.

"Papou, did you want to be king?" she asked, just as soon as he pulled back to look at her cerulean eyes. Eyes that made him feel like he was looking at his own daughter all over again.

"Oh, Marina. To be perfectly honest I did, I wanted to be king more then anything." He smiled, it was warm and inviting but Marina didn't seem able to react with the same warmth. "I was scared though." he added.

"Scared, you?" she turned her eyes up to his, wide in disbelief.

"Even a king gets scared sometimes, Dearest. When I became king it was because I had to take my father's place and I was no more then a merboy back then." he chuckled. "I was scrawny, and could hardly lift the trident, nothing like my father who seemed to have the strength of all the seven seas in just one scale on his fin."

"You see Marina, I lived my life under my mighty father. I only had one older brother, and I had been sure that I would not become king because my brother would have that place. But as my father grew ill, so did my older brother." his voice was soft, but he was careful to hold a watery smile for his great-granddaughter's sake. "They were both struck with terrible illness and my brother hardly lasted a month. Grief overtook my father, though he knew I was left he was as afraid as I was that I couldn't make the right decisions at as young an age as fifteen."

Marina gasped. Mermaids could live well into two, sometimes three, hundred years, fifteen was indeed a young age.

"I knew that because my father was passing on that I would have no choice but to ascend the throne, and I would have to do so without complaint." he smiled and lifted Marina's pale chin to look at him. "Much like your grandmother is doing for me. Ariel and Eric will take my place, but Ariel will take the throne. She will do as she must, without complaint. And when Eric was wounded and came to the sea with Ariel how old do you think your mother was?"

Marina shrugged. "I don't know."

"She was eighteen, rather young for a human Queen. But I remember how regally she stood that day of the coronation. Taking the crown as she knew she should. Only a year later she married your father and had you but before that she had been scared. Of course she was brave for those she lead but on the inside you could tell how frightened she was. We all have our parts to play, Marina."

Again he smiled down at her and she was able to return it with one so warm the old king felt the chill of his illness suddenly dissipate if only for a moment. King Triton had answered a lot of her question without Marina having to open her mouth more then once, and for that she was utterly thankful that her Papou had always been good at reading her.

"Now what is this all about?" but then again maybe not.

"Oh, Papou, I'm scared. I'm really scared. I don't want to be queen of anything." she said, tears beginning to glitter in her young eyes. "I don't want to go into war and defeat evil. I just want to go home, I want Sebastian to come back and tell me stories about my mother and grandmother, I want Scuttle to fly with me when I dive of the high coral, and I just want everything to okay again."

There was a crease in Triton's brow as he looked down at the small mermaid in his arms, he hadn't heard of anything other then Sebastian's sudden disappearance. Was there more to it? How come he had never been informed? "Marina, tell me, sweetheart. What's wrong?"

Again Marina relayed everything, absolutely everything that had happened, spilling it all for her great-grandfather to hear. He listened, unwavering until she'd finished. The water's held them in a current much like an embrace, not to tight and warm, comforting.

"Papou, I don't think I'd make a very good queen." she said, once she'd caught her breath.

"No one ever thinks they'll make a good leader, Marina." he said without missing a heartbeat. One of her hands lifted to twist a tendril of his long beard delicately, he chuckled making her slightly confused. "You'll never know until you try." Triton continued. "Maybe you aren't their queen, and maybe you are. We all get scared, Marina, we all feel as if we couldn't amount to anything, and the only cure is to try."

She swallowed the salty water, like she would a large gulp of air but eventually she nodded. "My mother doesn't like it. Crescent was very mean, so I don't blame her, and I'm not so sure I'm keen on Shimmer either."

"Melody was never as overprotective of you as Ariel was to her. Perhaps that is why you never found the need to rebel like those before you." he started, cupping her chin once more. "You said the prophecy looked for the third generation who wanted more."

"But, Papou, I don't want more."

"Oh Marina, you do, in your heart you really do we just never gave you the chance to find what it was that was missing. You had access to both land and sea, if must have felt complete but I'm sure there is another instant, something else more you yearn for."

Marina turned her gaze down to the soft coral floor of the room and watched it as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. She didn't feel anything, though she could feel, somewhere inside her -maybe not her heart but somewhere- that her great-grandfather was right. That maybe she had to really try and listen, maybe she had to try being a leader until they could find out who the real queen was.

"Thank you." she muttered burying her face into the soft white beard before her. Triton was warm, and still seemingly in good health but she could hear the gentle beating of his heart as it tried harder and harder to keep beating just another day. It wouldn't be long before she'd have to say goodbye forever to her Papou, but for the moment she was content in lying there until her cerulean eyes drifted in a sleep. Her tired body could contain the stress no longer and she easily fit into the curves of Tritons chest where he held her protecting the princess from nightmares that had plagued her often.

Triton looked down upon the brunette teen, her pale skin glowing a silver like color that was odd for a mermaid. He didn't want to believe that his precious Marina would face the fear that he had at fifteen but he knew, in his dying heart, that the this beautiful siren in his arms was destined for things far more greater than that of his own daughter and granddaughter. There was no way he was going to let go of this girl who's mind had been so bright at the fragile age of four that she'd outsmarted his wittiest guards with the tongue of royalty, who'd later at six sat amongst a council meeting and absorbed as much as she'd contributed. There was no denying the queen that lived inside her, but he wished with all his might he could.

As he sat there reflecting upon the girl he was interrupted by none other then her raven haired mother. "Grandfather, I'm sorry, I didn't think she'd come looking for you. I did tell her you weren't feeling well."

"Melody, you know my family will always be welcomed with open arms, sick or not." he said, smiling for his granddaughter. She did so in return.

They were silent, both of their eyes on the sleeping mermaid.

"She's so young, Mother believes I should give her to them." Melody said, turning her gaze to the still smiling king.

"Marina is a very wise girl, you may not see it Melody, but in many ways she outshines you and your mother at this age. Both of you were insistent on trouble, but Marina hardly had any to cause, her head is where it should be; level to the ground." he watched as Marina leaned against the wall of the room, exhaustion in her eyes. "Melody we cannot be afraid to let go of those we love."

"I know Grandfather, it's just …she's so young, my only little girl." Melody brushed a stray strand of the chocolate hair and felt herself shake due to the strength it was taking to hold back tears.

"You aren't losing her forever, Melody, I'm sure that won't happen."

Melody nodded, her blue eyes tracing the current outside the small window. Both of them reflected on the story that Marina had told them both. None of them would be able to put training wheels on this, as far as they knew they wouldn't even be allowed to hold onto her as she pushed off.

Cerulean eyes flickered slightly as Melody caught the sight of something. It happened very suddenly. One moment Melody's hands were empty and next there was a tiny white shell with a small star etched into it. Furrowing her brow she looked up at King Triton who nodded for her to continue. Inside the palm sized shell was a parchment that was silver in quality and seemed unaffected by the waters around him. Quietly she read and then rose her gaze.

"Sebastian. It looks like he's been representing us to these fairies." she said.

"Ah, ever my faithful ambassador." Triton said with fondness in his voice.

* * *

"This will work?" Crescent asked leaning against the wall of coral in which the very small island was made from.

"My letter was clear, and I promised to be beside her every step of the way. King Triton trusts me, and if he does you can be sure his daughter and granddaughter's feelings are mutual." said the once-crustacean as he leaned over the edge of a rock, dipping his pale toes into the current, feeling that connection with the water in him. He wondered if that was the way Ariel felt when she hadn't been allowed in the water for so long.

"Crescent?"

"Hmm…" the boy turned his dark blue-almost-black gaze over towards Sebastian in acknowledgement.

"Will I ever be a crab again?" he asked, almost cautiously.

A platinum blond brow rise delicately, "Why would you want to be a crab again?" asked the Fairy as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"It's what I know, I just feel that maybe that's where I should stay. I'm old, man." Sebastian replied, his thick accent taking on a serious tone.

Crescent chuckled and shook his head so the dark streak in his hair fell over his left eye. "Come now Sebastian, do you really think that if our magic turned you into what you are now that being an old geezer of a crab is what you were meant to be?"

"And what exactly am I now?" Sebastian's sky blue orbs narrowed, turning to meet the other's dark gaze.

"What do you think?" he snickered, "One of us obviously." he said gesturing up to the sky where a quarter moon was lighting the sky up with it's celestial glow.

"You mean-"

"Yup, you, Sebastian, are no longer just some crab. You are a Dream Fairy, not that there's much in your power to do at the moment, however, the fact that you came out at such a young age is proof enough. Fairies are immortal and soon enough you'll be able to change your age like Shimmer does often.."

Sebastian felt his lip twitch his mind teasing a thought that maybe Crescent was joking with him, "So not human?"

"Nuh uh. Fairy."

Sebastian's blonde brows furrowed. "I'm not going to glow like that am I?"

A laugh escaped the other. "I'm part Moon Fairy, that's why my sister and I glow, but you, no. Instead, when it develops, you'll be able to bring peace by your mere presence."

"So no chance of me becoming a crab then?" he asked, still.

"Oh there's a chance, but I suggest making the decision after we've done what we can with Marina and Eclipse."

Sebastian nodded. He'd only just sent the letter on a shell down to Melody, and he waited patiently, watching the shore for a crown of chestnut colored hair to poke from the glittering sea followed by oceanic eyes that would force that twinge in his chest that he was slowly starting to question.

_Oh! hush thee, my baby,  
The night is behind us,  
And black are the waters  
That sparkled so green.  
The moon, o'er the combers,  
Looks downward to find us  
At rest in the hollows  
That rustle between._

Where billow meets billow,  
Then soft by thy pillow;  
Ah, weary wee flipperling,  
Curl at thy ease!  
The storm shall not wake thee,  
Nor shark overtake thee,  
Asleep in the arms  
Of the slow-swinging seas

* * *

***Papou- does in fact mean Grandfather in Greek. Seeing as how the mermaids are Poseidons children and he was a Greek God I just saw it appropriate, I also found it rather endearing.**

**Thanks again for reading. I'll update as soon as I can. Also don't forget to review, I know this chapter isn't spectacular but it's as necessary to the plot as peanut butter is to jelly when I eat a sandwich. :]**

**:x: **Anna Craft


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